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"Come the fuck in or fuck the fuck off."
Oct. 7th, 2009 03:49 amNew show I am in love with: The Thick of It.
It's a 2005 British comedy/satire about politics, following the Minister of Social Affairs and all the completely insane shit that goes on in his department. It first came onto my radar after Children of Earth, when people were suddenly interested in sharing things Peter Capaldi has done.
Then there was a movie, In the Loop, based on the show, and it somehow managed to make its little way up to Portland for a week or two. I was able to get out and see it, and it was brilliant. It was funny as hell, reasonably easy to follow despite that fact that I know fuckall about the structuring of British government, and did I mention funny as hell? I was thrilled that I'd gotten to see it, and reminded myself to check out the show.
The show is better.
I know this is kind of an awkward entry so far, without much information about what makes these things awesome, but it's kind of hard to get into it. What's so funny about a wall that's falling apart, or a politician owning an extra apartment? I can't explain it. You just have to see it for yourself. The other half of the appeal is the dialogue, which is partially improvised and as a result sounds really natural. And they had a swearing consultant, so you may rest assured that the swearing is authentic and truly quality. I just don't think the vast majority of it would be especially funny written out. It's a very "you have to be there" kind of show.
And yes, Peter Capaldi is fantastic in it. His character, Malcolm Tucker, is the polar opposite of John Frobisher. He's vicious and aggressive and swears constantly (the subject line? Malcolm) and will cut any throat he has to cut to keep things running smoothly. He is a magnificent fucking bastard, and I think the only thing that could stop him dead in sheer despair would be meeting meek little John Frobisher slinking around wearing Malcolm's face. And even then he'd find some way to turn this to his advantage that would make Frobisher positively long for more poisonous orders from PMHoratio Green.
Tragically, The Thick of It is not available on DVD in the States, though In the Loop will be released eventually, I'm sure. I mean, hell, if a limited release movie makes it to fucking Maine, it's done pretty well for itself. For the record, I am absolutely not planning to make TToI available in any way in the next week or two. Just making that clear.
It's a 2005 British comedy/satire about politics, following the Minister of Social Affairs and all the completely insane shit that goes on in his department. It first came onto my radar after Children of Earth, when people were suddenly interested in sharing things Peter Capaldi has done.
Then there was a movie, In the Loop, based on the show, and it somehow managed to make its little way up to Portland for a week or two. I was able to get out and see it, and it was brilliant. It was funny as hell, reasonably easy to follow despite that fact that I know fuckall about the structuring of British government, and did I mention funny as hell? I was thrilled that I'd gotten to see it, and reminded myself to check out the show.
The show is better.
I know this is kind of an awkward entry so far, without much information about what makes these things awesome, but it's kind of hard to get into it. What's so funny about a wall that's falling apart, or a politician owning an extra apartment? I can't explain it. You just have to see it for yourself. The other half of the appeal is the dialogue, which is partially improvised and as a result sounds really natural. And they had a swearing consultant, so you may rest assured that the swearing is authentic and truly quality. I just don't think the vast majority of it would be especially funny written out. It's a very "you have to be there" kind of show.
And yes, Peter Capaldi is fantastic in it. His character, Malcolm Tucker, is the polar opposite of John Frobisher. He's vicious and aggressive and swears constantly (the subject line? Malcolm) and will cut any throat he has to cut to keep things running smoothly. He is a magnificent fucking bastard, and I think the only thing that could stop him dead in sheer despair would be meeting meek little John Frobisher slinking around wearing Malcolm's face. And even then he'd find some way to turn this to his advantage that would make Frobisher positively long for more poisonous orders from PM
Tragically, The Thick of It is not available on DVD in the States, though In the Loop will be released eventually, I'm sure. I mean, hell, if a limited release movie makes it to fucking Maine, it's done pretty well for itself. For the record, I am absolutely not planning to make TToI available in any way in the next week or two. Just making that clear.